What did you do to speed up NHS appointment?

[MD1]

Hello.

In December our GP referred my toddler to NHS child's ophthalmologist. We finally got a confirmation for... 9th May. 5-6 months for a basic doctor's appointment? And it's in central London. I went to A&E (with a toddler it's quite an experience, to wait there) but we were seen like for 5 mins' (no actual full check of eyes) then were given a letter, asking to speed up the appointment but got nothing from either our GP Practice or the hospital itself (despite my follow ups and asking why it cannot be speeded up with the letter). Nothing.

Using private health insurance is a bit faster (but you also have to 'jump through many hoops' not to mention many additional £££ fees, not covered by an insurance despite it's a new condition, not pre-exciting).

We are quite likely to use the insurance.

What did you do to speed up an appointment with any NHS doctor?

Thanks.

Private is mid Feb or mid may? If it’s mid Feb then that’s only 2 weeks away so just wait for that appt.
if you meant mid may im really surprised the GP hasn’t suggested you try and see a community optometrist, in some areas like in Somerset GP’s won’t deal with eyes and the hospital won’t accept new referrals without an optometrist letter, everyone is directed to an optometrist first.

Depends what the referral is for whether a community optometrist will be able to help or not but it would be worth asking. They’ll be able to tell you if your child needs glasses and do a basic vision test even if your child is under the age of 4. They’ll be able to reassure you or ask for the referral to be sped up if required and provide more detailed information to the ophthalmologist which will help them triage the referral.
under 16’s are able to claim free NHS sight tests. It is not allowed for an optometrist to discriminate based on age if they have an NHS contract so don’t get fobbed off by places blanket saying they won’t see under a certain age. Depending on your child they may only be able to do a very limited examination or none at all but it’s worth a go, there’s nothing to loose while your waiting.

Thank you for all the notes and suggestions.
Yes, private mid Feb' and yes, we are booked (yet I find it a bit a wait for a child, especially if I'm paying).
I went to different community optometrists (I also went to Boots Opticians and Specsavers) in Central London; all said I need to see a doctor because a little one is only 3 y/o and they are not equipped and / or educated for.

I'm an optometrist, when we referral someone it get triaged and that determines the speed of the referral.
AS the PP said, they cannot refuse to see under 3's, it's not allowed.

What's the eye issue?

Thank you. Sent you PM.

I always feel for people who until hadn’t had to use the NHS much and are suddenly realising how shit it is.

That said I’m not sure how they could make the wait any quicker for a child rather than an adult.

As you are finding OP even private health has wait times now - due to the number of people having to use it. I’m predicting a massive boom in private healthcare in the next few years.

This^
Sometimes children’s queue is shorter sometimes it’s longer it really depends. Maybe ask GP to contact hospital again if something’s changed for worse? Or is it possible to make some tests in advance to speed up the process later?

Thank you kindly for your comment.
I must say private health insurance is not cheap, it does have a lot of exclusions, many additional fees in various cases and you cannot use it for something pre-existing/had a consultation for after. Yet, in some cases, it is still your 'best' option. On other note, private health (in general) is very expensive for any tiny step.

Thank you, I did. They said, they'll 'try'. I called the hospital myself as well but you can tell (from the replies, attitude (and I cannot blame them, this is the system they are part of and just 'follow' the rules or do what they know they can do and no one will do anything about it), no one is interested and/or can actually do something about the situation of long wait.

I’ve just got a letter from the local hospital for DD’s appointment- the waiting list is 48 weeks. A friend just got a specialist appointment after waiting for nearly 10 months.
These are figures for adult departments 😢😢😢

I always say we are available for last minute cancellations and call periodically to find out where we are on the list. It sucks because if we don't it's very much out of sight out of mind. A friend has been battling for months now and it's exhausting and adds to the already stretched mental load of being a parent.

You do realise you're asking 'what can I do to push my child in front of another child?'

Whilst it's totally natural for us to put our children first, in this instance only clinical need should be considered rather than how pushy their parent is.

It's fair to take on a short term cancellation but the other methods of constantly harassing and haranguing busy administration staff by phoning them all the time is out of order.

As to going to A&E - Accident and Emergency by the way - so totally inappropriate for you to attend when you already had been referred by your GP, had I triaged you (and I have triaged similar) I would have told you clearly that this was not an appropriate place to attend.

Whilst the NHS has challenges it is made infinitely worse by people acting incredibly selfishly and constantly pushing NHS staff for more attention when they have already been dealt with appropriately.

Oh, bless. I hope you and your friend will be able to see a doctor faster.

Thank you.